Veterans Day observed across upstate NY

By The Associated Press

Monday, November 12, 2012

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Hundreds of people stood along the route of a soldier's coffin in a solemn Veterans Day observance in western New York, while others gathered at a veterans' cemetery in Saratoga County.

Sgt. Brett Gornewicz was one of three U.S. Army Reservists killed in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan. His flag-draped coffin returned to his Erie County hometown of Alden Sunday morning and a procession began at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Many along the route saluted. Several wiped away tears. His funeral is Monday.

The procession included dozens of motorcycles ridden by members of the Patriot Guard Riders.

Across the state, on a grassy expanse in Stillwater, a few hundred people gathered at the Saratoga National Cemetery within sight of the rolling farmland where colonial forces in 1777 defeated the British in two pivotal battles, changing the course of the Revolutionary War and initiating the rise of the American empire. Flags from the five service branches, overtopped by an American flag, popped and snapped as schoolchildren read essays explaining what the day meant to them.

In the front row, John McKenna III and Karen McKenna of Clifton Park, N.Y., sat together, Karen clutching a bright magenta flower. Their son, Marine Corps Capt. John McKenna IV died in August 2006 in Fallujah, Iraq. A welcome center for returning military at the nearby Albany airport is named for John McKenna, and his father, who attended a homecoming just this week, said each time, it gets a little easier to see troops return. It wasn't always that way. The last time he saw his son alive was as he departed from the same airport and for a while, he couldn't bring himself to be there when uniformed men and women came home.

"People ask if I'm here to make sure people don't forget John," said John McKenna. "No. If you knew John, you'd never forget him. I'm here to teach the young one what Veterans Day is all about."

George Greiner served during the Vietnam era. For him, the grounds at a veterans' cemetery, while hallowed, are not about the dead.

"Personally, it's really about how much life there is here," said the 57-year-old from Catskill. "It's not just a bunch of stones but it's respect and honor."

And, while he didn't leave the states during the waning days of the war in Southeast Asia, he stressed that the day was about remember all those who not only fought and died but those at home who did the jobs that made it possible to wage war.

"There's respect for those who went, but there's a whole group of people who are missing, too," Greiner said.

At Rochester's War Memorial, Army veteran Ken Moore talked about how he and fellow veterans were treated poorly when they returned home from Vietnam. He said he grew his hair and beard long and fell out of society.

According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, (http://on.rocne.ws/SYOm6d ), Moore said his life changed when he started working with the families of prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. He said he became proud of his service and traveled the country speaking about the effects of Agent Orange on vets.

"For me Veterans Day is not about sales of paint and furniture, it's a time when we reflect on all those veterans and it is a very special day to me," Moore said.